ST Ouen’s football club has received permission for a football training pitch.

The Planning applications panel overturned the planning officer’s recommendation for refusal because of the community benefit that would be gained by the training pitch. The club had applied to change the use of field 645, Grande Route de St Ouen, into a football training pitch with six floodlights at about six metres high. At the meeting on Thursday John Sowerby, owner of the house next to the field, objected to the plans on a number of levels.

He said: ‘It is clearly against the Island Plan. The lighting impact would be considerable. In the last four years there have been fields of daffodils and before that Sunflowers.’ He said it would be against everything the agricultural industry strives for if the field was developed.

St Ouen’s football club president Tommy A’Court said the club had been growing in numbers but that they only have a small area to train on. ‘Most nights they have to train on the pitch which is ruining the pitch for games. ‘We have all these boys wanting to play but we are conscious that we have to try and improve the facilities. Grouville have extra training facilities.’

• St Ouen Football Club in training